Japanese star Ado signed with WME in all areas globally, excluding Japan. The signing follows several high-profile festival appearances for the singer, including J-pop festival Zipangu in Los Angeles, which she headlined, as well as the Grove Stage at Lollapalooza and Summer Sonic in Japan. Next month, she’s slated to play Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.
Related
Publishing Briefs: BMG Acquires Chris Cheney’s Catalog — Plus, The Ivors Academy & YouTube Music Hold Songwriting Camp
According to a press release, Ado’s 2025 Hibana World Tour drew more than 500,000 fans across 34 shows on five continents, selling out dates at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and Newark, N.J.’s Prudential Center, among others. Earlier this year, she released the “autobiographical novel” Vivarium. Other recent projects include the single “Haru Ni Mau,” the theme song for the romance reality series Today, I Fell in Love; and the upcoming release of “Monstruo,” the theme song for the upcoming live-action adaptation of soccer manga franchise Blue Lock, which opens Aug. 7 in Japan.
Ado is known for performing inside a see-through cage that only shows her in silhouette, keeping her real identity a secret. The 23-year-old utaite singer signed to Universal Music Group in 2020. She previously charted on the Billboard Global 200 tally with “New Genesis,” a song from the animated movie One Piece Film: Red, which peaked at No. 20. She’s also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 multiple times, including with her debut single, “Usseewa,” while her 2023 single “Show” logged a total of 12 weeks atop that chart. — Chris Eggertsen
Read about more recent artist signings below.